Driving boot

ABSTRACT

A slip on and adjustable protective boot covering to be worn over a driver&#39;s right shoe while driving a vehicle. The protective boot can accommodate flat soled or high heeled shoes. When wearing a flat soled shoe, the heel portion of the protective covering has a rounded heel cup to accommodate the pivot motion of a driver&#39;s heel while driving. When wearing a high heeled shoe, an opening at bottom of the heel portion can be folded back to expose an opening to accommodate a high heeled shoe.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This patent application claims priority under 35 USC 119 (e) (1) fromU.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/013,881 filed Jun. 18,2014, of common inventorship herewith entitled, “Driving Boot,” which isincorporated herein by reference as though the same were set forth inits entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to the field of footwear, and morespecifically to the field of protective shoe covers, and even morespecifically to the field of protective shoe covers for use when drivingan automobile.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The prior art has put forth several designs for protective shoe covers.Among these are:

U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,607 to Michael B. Dean describes a shoe heelprotector, constructed for protecting a heel and counter of a shoe of avehicle driver, that is formed with an elongated blank of flat, planarleather, vinyl or other suitable material. The protector includes arelatively wide center area about which a plurality of darts are cut orotherwise formed. These darts are sewn or otherwise secured togetheralong their respective facing edges to gather the periphery of thecentral area together to form a heel pocket therein. The heel pocket isplaced over the lower rear edge of the shoe heel with the oppositeelongate straps of the protector being secured together over the top ofthe shoe or foot by a mating hook and loop fastening material or othersuitable fastening device. The protector is held securely in place aboutthe shoe and foot of the driver, as the protector cannot move upwardlydue to the portion of the pocket positioned beneath the heel and cannotmove forwardly due to the back wall of the pocket positioned behind theheel and counter. Rearward and downward movements of the protector areprecluded by the forwardly and upwardly extending straps securedtogether over the top of the shoe and foot in front of the ankle. Thepresent protector is formed in various sizes and configurations to fitdifferent types and sizes of shoes with reinforcement being providedoptionally for the spike heels of high heel shoes.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,517 to Robert Liener describes a footwear protectorcomprised of a single piece of material of uniform thickness and widthwhich forms an open toed design protector when in place. The protectorutilizes an opening at one end to allow the insertion of any fronttassel or decoration of the protected footwear and to secure theprotector to the front portion of the footwear. Hook and loop fastenersare located at each end of the protector's length to further secure theprotector. This fastening system allows the protector to be fitted todifferent size footwear, and facilitates quick and easy attachment andremoval of the device. Additionally, the protector is constructed of asoft nonabrasive fabric, allowing the protector also to be used as afootwear buffing and cleaning cloth when unsecured to footwear.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,469 to Zachary P. Beasley describes a shoe protectorhaving a body with a back portion having a length for protectivelycovering a rear portion of a shoe and side portions connectable to eachother at a location and adapted to overlie an instep region of the shoeand including a way for selectively adjusting the length of the backportion of the body. A back portion has an upper peripheral edge andpart with a lower peripheral edge and part to cover the rear portion ofa shoe, side portions which extend from the back portion for securementto each other over the instep region of the shoe, and a dart in the backportion which extends to the lower peripheral edge to taper the lowerpart relative to the upper part and to position the lower part toconform to the contour of the rear portion of the shoe. A back portionfor covering a rear portion of a shoe and elongate side portionsextending from the back portion to engage each other over an instepregion of the shoe are provided with a way for concurrently securing theside portions together at multiple locations along their length.Finally, methods for utilizing the same are provided.

None of these prior art references describe the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a slip on andadjustable protective boot covering to be worn over a driver's rightshoe while driving a vehicle.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a slip on andadjustable protective boot covering to be worn over a driver's rightshoe while driving a vehicle, wherein the shoe has an extended heel andthe protective boot has an opening to accommodate the protrusion of theextended heel.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a slipon and adjustable protective boot covering to be worn over a driver'sright shoe while driving a vehicle, wherein the shoe has a heel flapcovering the bottom of the heel portion of the covering.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a slipon and adjustable protective boot covering to be worn over a driver'sright shoe while driving a vehicle, wherein the covering has a roundedheel cup.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 a shows an illustrative diagonal view showing the presentinvention containing hook and loop fastener straps, for use with a flatsoled shoe.

FIG. 1 b shows an illustrative side view showing the present inventioncontaining hook and loop fastener straps, for use with a flat soledshoe, showing a rounded heel cup.

FIG. 1 c shows the heel flap folded up and snapped up to the back of thecovering to expose the bottom of the heel portion of the covering.

FIG. 2 a shows an illustrative diagonal front views showing the presentinvention including a flexible material that wraps around a shoe and asnap flap that secures the present invention around an extended heelallowing the extended heel to protrude from the protective covering.

FIG. 2 b shows an illustrative side view showing the present inventionincluding a flexible material that wraps around a shoe and a snap flapthat secures the present invention around an extended heel allowing theextended heel to protrude from the protective covering.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Inventions are always a product of vision and creativity whether theyare world changing inventions like cars and computers or everydayconveniences like pump hairsprays, cordless tools and resealable sodabottles. New inventions like a cell phone change a person's life style,making communication more convenient and accessible virtually anywhere.Other inventions such as a snow scraper and brush combine two alreadyexisting inventions into an improved embodiment, reducing clutter in ourlives and making a daily winter chores much easier. Often necessitycombined with a little creativity is the underlying motivator for aninvention. Most inventions fill a relatively small need or perform aspecialized limited function. If that need is shared by a sufficientnumber of consumers, an invention has a great potential for success.

The need addressed by the present invention pertains to vehicle drivers.When a motorist drives a car, the heel area of their right shoe becomesworn. The wear on the right shoe is excessive and uneven when comparedto the left shoe. This issue particularly pertains to women who oftenhave more delicate shoes and wear a higher variety of footwear than men.

As used herein, the terms “driving boot”, “shoe protector” and“protective boot covering” are equivalent.

The present invention, hereinafter referred to as the Driving Boot, is aslip on, adjustable, hook and loop fastening shoe protector in the formof a boot. The Driving Boot is worn over a driver's right shoe whiledriving a vehicle. The Driving Boot protects the driver's shoe, whethera flat soled shoe or boot or a high heeled shoe, from excessive anduneven wear which occurs as a consequence of driving.

Please refer to the Figures. The Driving Boot covering 10 shown in FIGS.1 a, 1 b and 1 c, is designed for a flat soled shoe and wraps around,covers and protects a wearer's right shoe from the region of the instepback around and below the heel. The Driving Boot extends upward abovethe ankle region of the shoe. The Driving Boot is produced in a varietyof materials from a coated synthetic rubber foam polymer to a naturalcanvas fiber to a synthetic fiber. The interior is padded comfortablywhile its exterior side is highly durable and tough on the exteriorside.

The Driving Boot fastens around a shoe's foot and ankle region byemploying hook and loop fastening straps 14, ensuring a form fitting andsnug fit that is essential in a shoe that is worn while driving,

The heel 18 of the Driving Boot comprises a heel cup 20, which is madeof flexible material and is rounded to accommodate the pivot motion of adriver's heel while driving. As can be seen in FIG. 1 c, heel cup 20 iscapable of being folded back and attached to the back of the drivingboot 10 to expose an opening 22 in the bottom heel portion of the bootto accommodate a high heeled shoe having an extended heel 32. In thiscase, heel cup 20 attaches to the back of the driving boot by means of asnap 26. When a wearer is wearing flat soled shoes, this heel cup 20attaches to the sole of the Driving Boot by means of snap 28, shown inFIG. 1 b.

The Driving Boot is produced in a variety of colors, patterns andfinishes to suit the range of consumer tastes. The Driving Boot ismanufactured in small, medium, large and extra large sizes. The presentinvention accommodates both men and women's shoes. The simple andelegant Driving Boot resolves a specific and widespread problem, thetendency of a driver's right shoe to become excessively and unevenlyworn as a result of its habitual position while driving. The DrivingBoot is affordable, easily usable and storable in a glove box, consoleor door side compartment.

Although this invention has been described with respect to specificembodiments, it is not intended to be limited thereto and variousmodifications which will become apparent to the person of ordinary skillin the art are intended to fall within the spirit and scope of theinvention as described herein taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings and the appended claims.

1. A slip on and adjustable protective covering to be worn over adriver's right shoe while driving a vehicle, comprising flexiblematerial that wraps around, covers and protects the rear portion of awearer's right shoe from the region of the instep back around and belowthe heel, wherein the covering extends upward above the ankle region ofthe shoe, further wherein the covering is open at the front and can besecured in place around the shoe by means of hook and loop fastenerstraps, further wherein the heel portion of the covering comprises aheel cup, which cup is made of flexible material and is rounded toaccommodate the pivot motion of a driver's heel while driving, furtherwherein the heel cup is capable of being folded back and attached to theback of the driving boot to expose an opening in the bottom heel portionof the covering to accommodate the protrusion of a high heeled shoehaving an extended heel.
 2. The protective covering of claim 1, whereinheel cup attaches to the back of the driving boot by means of a snap. 3.The protective covering of claim 1, wherein heel cup attaches to thesole of the covering by means of a snap.
 4. The protective covering ofclaim 1, produced in coated synthetic rubber foam polymer.
 5. Theprotective covering of claim 1, produced in a natural canvas fiber. 6.The protective covering of claim 1, produced in a synthetic fiber. 7.The protective covering of claim 1, further wherein the interior ispadded comfortably while its exterior side is highly durable and toughon the exterior side.
 8. The protective covering of claim 1, produced insmall, medium and large sizes.